Connor Hellebuyck made 31 saves to tie the record for victories in a season by an American goalie as the host Winnipeg Jets beat the Calgary Flames 2-1 on Thursday night.
Hellebuyck has 43 victories to match the mark set by former Pittsburgh star Tom Barrasso in 1992-93.
Blake Wheeler scored his 23rd goal for his 90th point of the season, and Paul Stastny added a goal to help Winnipeg improve to 10-1-0 in its past 11 games. Rookie Spencer Foo scored his first NHL goal for the Flames.
Winnipeg will play the Wild in the first round of the NHL playoffs after Nashville beat Washington 4-3, assuring the Jets will finish second in the Central Division.
Nashville 4, Washington 3: Craig Smith scored twice and Ryan Johansen had the go-ahead goal late in the third period to help the visiting Predators beat the Washington Capitals to clinch first place in the Central Division, the top seed in the Western Conference and the NHL's best record. Juuse Saros stopped 28 of the 31 shots. Nashville will open the playoffs against the second wild card in the West. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored twice and Alex Ovechkin got his NHL-leading 47th goal of the season for the Capitals.
Pittsburgh 5, Columbus 4 (OT): Phil Kessel scored 1:06 into overtime as the Penguins beat the host Blue Jackets, who still clinched a playoff spot. Columbus entered the game needing one point. Conor Sheary of the Penguins tied the game at 12:16 of the third.
New Jersey 2, Toronto 1: Pavel Zacha and Miles Wood scored second-period goal as the host Devils clinched a playoffs berth for the first time since 2012.
Notes
• Blackhawks President Joe McDonough said he plans to bring back both coach Joel Quenneville and General Manager Stan Bowman despite Chicago's last-place finish in the Central Division.
